Ausgrid has finalised its plans and the project has been approved for construction. We expect a civil contractor to be on site in 2016 to begin work.

Following completion of the construction, electrical equipping, connection of the new substation to the network and final commissioning will take a further 12 months to complete. We anticipate that the substation will be ready for service by early 2018.

Once the new Cessnock South substation is fully operational, electrical equipment will be removed from the yard of the existing Cessnock substation. It is likely that the brick building will be retained for additional office space for Ausgrid’s Cessnock depot.

Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Ausgrid is the determining authority for this project.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was prepared for the project in accordance with Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and Clause 228 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.

The EIA investigates the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed substation. It also recommends mitigation measures as required to ensure any impacts are at acceptable levels. Ausgrid assessed the project for construction approval based on information contained in the EIA.

There will be some noise associated with the construction phase of this project however, the location of the site means that this should not create any inconvenience for nearby residents.

Any potential impacts are assessed as part of an environmental assessment (known as an EIA) and measures put in place to minimise impacts on the local environment.

The work with most significant impact would typically be during the first twelve months of the project as the builder carries out earthworks and building construction.

Installation of new equipment within the new structure would be of lower impact with staff working predominantly within the building.Ausgrid does not plan to interrupt local electricity supplies as part of this project.